We’re in the second game of our College Football Playoff and it’s the Fiesta Bowl with No. 3 Ohio State (11-2) taking on No. 2 Clemson (12-1) at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz.
Earlier today No. 1 Alabama (14-0) punched its ticket to the final with a 24-7 win over Washington 12-2) in the Peach Bowl.
As always, scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for the press release from Clemson.
Dabo Swinney has used his platform as Clemson’s head coach throughout the 2016 season to encourage Tiger fans not to take his program’s meteoric rise for granted. He has preached constantly on how difficult it is to build a consistent winner at the FBS level. Few programs experience the level of success the Tigers have seen, success that has culminated with Clemson’s second consecutive berth in the College Football Playoff.
The day following Clemson’s first back-to-back ACC championships in nearly 30 years, Swinney’s team was announced as the No. 2 overall seed, and that the Tigers would be pitted against No. 3 Ohio State in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl on December 31 at 7 p.m.
“We’re incredibly excited to be a part of the Fiesta Bowl and to return to Arizona,” said Swinney. “We appreciate the playoff committee and its confidence in us as one of the nation’s four best teams, and we look forward to traveling out and having a great time.”
Clemson carries a 12-1 record into the New Year’s Eve matchup, a rematch of the 2014 Orange Bowl (at the end of the 2013 season) that saw the Tigers defeat Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes by a score of 40-35 in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The Tigers’ season has produced several memorable moments along the way. Clemson exorcised several road demons in 2016, winning at Auburn, Georgia Tech and Florida State, three historically difficult venues for the Tiger program. Then, Swinney’s team secured a heart-stopping victory over a top-five Louisville team and an overtime triumph over NC State, with reserve cornerback Marcus Edmond ending both opponents’ final drives with key plays defensively.
Clemson completed its season in grand fashion, winning 56-7 over in-state rival South Carolina for the largest victory margin in history by an ACC team over an SEC foe. The Tigers followed a week later with a 42-35 win over Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game, where another cornerback, Cordrea Tankersley, ended the Hokies’ threat with an interception in the final minutes.
“We’re still soaking in winning the ACC championship in back-to-back years,” admitted Swinney. “That hadn’t happened in 28 years around here, so that’s incredibly hard to do. I’m proud of our team. A lot of hard work has gone into it.”
More hard work is ahead as the Tigers face an Ohio State program led by the nation’s winningest coach on a percentage basis in Meyer. The Buckeyes have just one blemish on their record, a 24-21 loss at Penn State on October 22.
The two quarterbacks will certainly be in the spotlight, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett. A two-time finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Watson has set a number of Clemson passing records in 2016 and has accounted for 43 touchdowns heading into the Fiesta Bowl. Watson is 30-3 as Clemson’s starting quarterback, while his counterpart, Barrett, has just three losses in 29 starts. Both have accounted for at least 100 touchdowns in their respective careers.
The Fiesta Bowl is on ESPN at 7 p.m. Watch it with me while we’re still all relatively sober.
